Are buyers agents worth it? When they pay for themselves and when they don't

A buyers agent is worth it when the money and time they save you is more than their fee. For some buyers that’s clearly true. For others it isn’t. Here’s how to tell which one you are.

What it costs

Brisbane buyers agents that publish their fees charge either a fixed fee or a percentage of the purchase price, sometimes with an up-front engagement fee. Every firm’s published fee is on our fees page, with a calculator for your price.

20 Brisbane firms publish their fees. On a $900,000 purchase, the middle published fee is $15,880 ex GST, and firms that charge a percentage publish rates from 1% to 3.3%.

What you get for it

• Search: shortlisting, inspecting and ruling out properties, including ones you’d never see on the portals.
• Price: an independent read on what the property is worth, based on recent sales.
• Negotiation and auction bidding: someone who does this every week and isn’t emotionally attached.
• Due diligence: checking the contract, building and pest reports, flood maps and body corporate records with you.

When it usually makes sense

• You’re buying from interstate or overseas. You can’t inspect on a Saturday, and you don’t know which streets flood.
• You’re time-poor. A serious search takes evenings and weekends for months.
• You’re competing in a tight market where good homes sell before or at the first open.
• You hate negotiating, or you know you’ll overpay at auction.
• You’re buying an investment and want someone to run the numbers coldly.

When it often doesn’t

• You’ve bought before in the same area, know the local values and enjoy the search.
• Your budget is modest and a fixed fee would be a large share of any saving.
• You’ve already found the property and only need help with the contract. A conveyancer or a negotiation-only service may cover it for less.

How to decide

Work out the fee for your price on the fees page, then ask yourself: would I save that much in price, time or mistakes avoided? If the answer is “probably”, interview two or three firms from the Brisbane ranking and ask each what they’ve bought in your suburbs this year.